Gays of our Lives (March 23, 2009)

MJ (continued): And while we were shooting this stuff I was really angry because As The World Turns was having its unofficial kissing ban. I was extremely frustrated with As The World Turns and their treatment of their gay characters. And so it was important to me that we show the gay characters in my show kissing. And at one point, in episode three, they are in bed together talking about their lives.

Peter and John in a rare quiet moment in the series.

AE: What kind of response have you gotten from your series?
MJ: This has all been an experiment for me. It’s all new to me. I’ve gotten very good responses. We’ve gotten over 90,000 hits since February 1st. Here’s a true story. I was at the grocery store last week and I ran into my partner’s mom. She asked me a question about a previous week’s episode and I was explaining to her how we shot it and the woman next to us in the checkout lane said, “Oh, do you watch that show too. I just saw it last night. I love it.” That felt good. People are watching it and seem to really enjoy it.

AE: Do you plan on continuing the series?
MJ: I would like to. I have to evaluate after the fifth episode and see where we are at. If we were to do a second season, it would move up. The woman in the coma is two months pregnant. It would move up to where she’s nine months pregnant. It would jump ahead six or seven months.

A behind the scenes look at the set of The Edge of Happiness.

AE: You mentioned earlier that you studied religion in college. Did you have difficulties with that because of your sexuality?
MJ: I did get a degree in religion at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. I worked in a church for two years in the Mississippi Delta as a youth director. I was very much in the closet at the time. Growing up I did have huge internal problems being gay and going to church. Which was difficult, because I went to church a lot. It wasn't until I came out that I was able to deal with the two and am happy to say that is no conflict with my sexuality and faith. One of the main characters is a preacher. I think its good that people of faith are on the screen.

AE: What do your viewers have to look forward to in the season finale?
MJ: We do find out who the shooter is. Part of the episode picks up where we left off at the end of episode four, but during the episode there is a time jump of a month. Someone will be arrested for the crime in episode five, not necessarily the shooter, but someone will be arrested.

You can find all five episodes of The Edge of Happiness at www.edgeofsoapopera.com.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION

United States of Tara – The aftermath of Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and Jason’s sexual interlude played out in surprising fashion on this week’s USoT. Given how these things usually go in television land, I dreaded Jason’s reaction the morning after, but to the show's credit, didn’t go for the tried and true.

***Spolier Alert***

I loved that Jason was up for continuing things with Marshall and for him it wasn’t about gay or straight; it was that he was a horny teenage boy. Even better were the ensuing events after Marshall discovered his new love macking on one of his mother’s alters. Marshall’s chilling reaction revealed there is much more to this character than viewer's have seen up to this point. He may actually be the most interesting member of this odd little family.

Don’t mess with Marshall!